Moving to cows milk: Hey lovelies has... - Pregnancy and Par...

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Moving to cows milk

Cookies7 profile image
28 Replies

Hey lovelies has anyone got any tips please on how to move my 12 month old on to cows milk from formula. He's turning 1 in a few days. I don't know when and how to start the transition. Also if I end up still giving him formula would I need to sterlise his bottles now,

Thanks

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Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7
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28 Replies
Sw1234 profile image
Sw1234

My LO is about to turn 13 months. He's only on 2 bottles so I started using cows milk for his morning bottle and kept using formula for night. After a week (once I knew he wasn't getting ill/nappies stayed the same) I moved onto cows milk for night too. We kept sterilising bottles for 3 weeks just to make sure he was settled on the milk before we made any other changes. He's been absolutely fine and still loves his milk! We've now started using a beaker for morning milk to reduce bottles too

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Sw1234

How many ounces is your little one drinking now per bottle?

Sw1234 profile image
Sw1234 in reply to Cookies7

He's on 12oz a day. 4 at breakfast and 8 before bed. Eats really well though

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Sw1234

Ok mine doesn't eat too well so he's probably going to need more. Do you plan on taking milk away altogether soon

Sw1234 profile image
Sw1234 in reply to Cookies7

No, not planning on making any other changes. Apart from moving to an evening beaker instead of bottle but I'm not ready to give that up until

Seb9 profile image
Seb9

I started my using cows milk on cereal and in cooking and then just used cows milk in bottles one day, She was breast fed and had one cows milk bottle a day. So you could do formula and 1 cows milk bottle to see how they get on Now we've stopped breast feeding she just gets cows milk and has a couple of bottles a day.

I stopped sterilising bottles at about 8/9 months once she was crawling and eating anything she found on the floor, I still made her formula bottle up with boiling water but just washed the bottles with hot water and washing up liquid.

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Seb9

He currently has 3 bottles but isn't a good eater. I'm can't decide between cold turkey and switching one at a time. Did she not mind the taste of it the first time you gave her the cows milk

Seb9 profile image
Seb9 in reply to Cookies7

No both mine didn't seem to mind when they switched to cows milk.My eldest really didn't like the follow on milk so it was a relief when she was happy with cows milk, she was also a pretty rubbish eater, I think she'd still be happy on baby pouches and red of milk instead of real food and she's nearly 4 🙈

The youngest even though she's tiny, has a much better appetite than her sister, she probably has less milk per day now than her sister as she'll eat full meals and doesn't finish her bottle all the time.

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Seb9

That's lucky then I hope mine switches over quickly without a fuss

Twiglet2 profile image
Twiglet2

we used cows milk in cereal etc from 8months then I planned to transition slowly with some cows milk then some formula in the night bottle (only bottle he was having at 12 months). A week before his 1st bday we were only holiday and my mum took him back to the apartment for bed so we could stay out a bit longer. When I got back I wondered why his formula was still sitting and my mum went ‘oh god I thought he was on the blue milk now that’s in the fridge that you gave him with his cereal so I gave him that’ 🤣 so that was it he had blue milk one night (from a Spanish cow no less😂) and from then on blue milk no issues lol kinda glad it worked out that way as I would have over thought it otherwise. No need to sterlise but I did for a week or 2 more just out of habit xx

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Twiglet2

Oh wow well that's lucky he took to it so well. I think we all need mums like yours who just unintentionally make things work for us 😉

Twiglet2 profile image
Twiglet2 in reply to Cookies7

she was so apologetic but I was like nah it’s fine if he’s fine ..job done 🤣👌🏻 xx

Purpledoggy profile image
Purpledoggy

At 1y he was on 4 bottles so we switched one at a time for cows milk every few days, the first we did half n half. We then put it in his sippy cup. He’s almost 15 months and still won’t drink it cold though 😂 It just gets dropped like a hot potato after the first sip. Xx

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Purpledoggy

Awh. Did he refuse it the first time he tasted it or did he just drink because he was hungry

Purpledoggy profile image
Purpledoggy in reply to Cookies7

He flat out refused it when we gave it to him cold. We warmed it up and he gobbled it down. He have just continued warming it for now but at some point we’ll start giving it tepid as the little price can’t have it warm forever 😂 xx

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Purpledoggy

Haha. Little update I gave him some milk an hour ago and he's been passing wind. He drank 4 ounces warmed up. I think I'm going to go for it and see what happens. Here's hoping an allergy doesn't pop up now

PenguinBlue profile image
PenguinBlue

hello! We went ‘cold Turkey’ and just switched 2 days before his 1st birthday (as the formula had run out 😂) and he was completely fine with it. I know some parents who had to mix formula with cows milk but depends what your little one is like. We also stopped sterilising at 1 year too and he was completely fine ( probably because of all the times I’ve caught him with a shoe in his mouth 🙈) x

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to PenguinBlue

Haha bless him. I want to do that I'm so over preparing formula and sterilising. I just don't think he will take to it so nicely. One lady said start with morning one so I think I'll try switching that first as he will be very hungry

PenguinBlue profile image
PenguinBlue in reply to Cookies7

haha I’m with you there - sterilising was the bane of my life. Not looking forward to that part when my second one arrives later this year.

Good luck with the transition - hope that it goes well!! X

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to PenguinBlue

Awh congratulations. I was glad to breastfeed as long as I could so I got away with sterilising for a while. Thanks. I did end up giving him a bottle after lunch and he took it well so looks like we're ok to just switch it up. 12th

PenguinBlue profile image
PenguinBlue in reply to Cookies7

thank you!! Yes, I did the same - combi fed with just one bottle for a few months and then eventually my supply dwindled around 9 months - those last few months sterilising were so annoyinG! Hoping I’ll be able to do something similar this time round too.

And yay, glad to hear he took it well 🎉 x

Abs1403 profile image
Abs1403

We transitioned at 1 year and swapped an oz at a time, so did 6formula 1cows milk in same feed and then over the course of a week gradually increase cows milk and decreased formula. Slightly different to the other replies but it worked for us. He's now nearly 3 and only recently gave up his bottle of cows milk before bed!

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Abs1403

Thanks. I have been reading about this his dad suggests doing this it might be something I'll try if he totally refuses the milk as I have a very fussy baby when it comes to food

Claire679 profile image
Claire679

Just buy the toddler formula milk of the brand milk you get

Rain415 profile image
Rain415

Hi, we went "cold turkey" and gave him a beaker of whole milk on 1st birthday morning. He was fine. But still wants a bottle at night. All cows milk no forumla. My health visitor said 2 milk drinks a day one in morning one in evening approx 250ml for each x

Davies2807 profile image
Davies2807

Just wondering how your change over was going, all good I hope xx my 2 used to have cows milk for cereal/ breakfast a cup of tea in a bottle with their dinner , blue tp milk with thier tea and horlicks made with whole milk for bed and they slept like babies lol 😆 😉

Cookies7 profile image
Cookies7 in reply to Davies2807

Hi, So far seems ok he's taken to it nicely better than I thought as he's very fussy. For now I'm still giving his night feed formula and still sterilising I think I'll stop both in the coming week. Did your kids drink it cold because mine won't. I never thought to give horlicks what age can I start from x

XOXO13 profile image
XOXO13

Hello, I know this is a few days old but I wanted to share what I’m doing as my twins are a similar age. After speaking to my little boys gastro specialist, he advised us to keep both babies (twins, 14 months), on formula and mix with normal milk if we wanted to. So my little boy has an amino-acid formula (4oz) mixed with oat milk (2/3oz) twice a day. My little girl is on Kendamil follow on formula (#3), same oz as above and also mixed with oat milk. She is able to tolerate cows milk but I personally choose to give her oat milk as a drink vs full fat cows milk. I will transition her onto that milk with time though. I guess the point of this post is to not feel too pressured to be giving cows milk as the formulas are still okay for babies until 2 (or that’s the advice I have been given). Xx

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